


You're On Your Way Up

by CapriStar (OneDer)



Series: MERAKI PAPERS [1]
Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Advice Column, Crack, Feel-good, Fluff, Hope, Kim Seungmin's POV, Kim Seungmin-centric, Light Angst, M/M, School Newspaper, agony aunt, or should I say uncle
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-28
Updated: 2019-10-28
Packaged: 2021-01-04 23:42:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21205676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OneDer/pseuds/CapriStar
Summary: ~Putting the paper down, Minho smiled. He's on his way up~Sometimes, life feels hopeless. Kim Seungmin knows this better than anybody.Inspired by best friend, (needy acquaintance) Han Jisung, Seungmin begins an 'Agony Uncle' advice column in the University Newspaper.He doesn't regret a second. He's on his way up.





	You're On Your Way Up

**Author's Note:**

> Part 1 of the MERAKI PAPERS series.

The saddest moment in life is when your eyes lose their wonder. When the world dims. Suddenly, stars are just lights and the sunrise is just the morning. 

And time starts ticking again.

Seungmin feels it sometimes; when he's onto his third espresso of the night and he's barricaded in his chair by piles of textbooks. He'd look outside and the stars would shine bright as ever. Mocking him. They have so little to do.

All the time in the world.

Sometimes Seungmin wonders what it'd be like to end it all. If he disappeared now- where would he go? Nowhere? Everywhere? Maybe he'd be another star. Dormant. Patient. Safe.

Seungmin doesn't think he'd hate that.

Often, Seungmin ponders why he never goes as far as the razor, tucked hastily in his dresser. Or the edge of the balcony, a welcoming sky behind it.   
Maybe because he doesn't have the right. Looking at the sun rising above the horizon every morning, Seungmin can still feel his world slow down. A special, private grin still graces his features. He's far from hopeless. 

If those who don't rely on the stars can still fight another day, then why shouldn't Seungmin?

If he looked back, Seungmin would see that it was only the little things that really kept him going.

When Marathon (Day6) suddenly blasted through his new earphones. When hours stretched ahead of him, just alone on the bus. On those precious movie nights which would leave them all tangled together, unlikely to move from whoever's living room they had commandeered.

And of course, the letters.

Seungmin was surprised by the success of his column, really. Slightly overshadowed by The Daily Horoscope (run by Felix, used to flirt with Changbin), and just below the Professor Gossip, sat an unassuming box. The Agony Uncle. Run by Kim Seungmin.  
He hadn't expected his articles to harbour so much attention. Within days of his first piece, Seungmin found his inbox crammed with questions and pleas from confused, afraid college students.

He hadn't expected to enjoy it so much, either.

The idea had bloomed from his late night discussion with Jisung. One of their infamous movie nights, of course.

"Seungmin? Are you awake?"

Still half-asleep, Seungmin had attempted to bat the hand feverishly shaking his arm away. Needless to say, it didn't work. Forced to fully open his eyes, Seungmin was greeted by the still night sky shining smugly behind the open windows. To his left, Jisung was sitting. His eyes were downcast, and his lips pulled into a tight line. 

"I am now."

He whispered, noticing the sleeping figures of his friends surrounding him. Jisung at least had the decency to look a little guilty at that. He let out a small, sheepish laugh.

"That may be my fault," Seungmin had only raised his eyebrows at that. "Okay, it's definitely my fault. I just wanted your help with something. It's been on my mind a lot recently."

No matter how vague the statement, Seungmin was pretty sure that he knew what it addressed. Not wanting to discourage his friend, Seungmin simply nodded lacing their hands together.

Jisung's face was illuminated by the moon as he began to voice his thoughts. There was an atmosphere of intimacy that Seungmin had never quite experienced before. It was warm. It was nice.

"I... god this is hard. I've- I've liked this person for a while now. But I just can't read them at all. They're really, flirty? I feel special with them, but I think that everyone feels special with them,"

Jisung smiled sadly, his words quiet enough to blend with the occasional sounds outside.

"I don't want to say something and get turned down, because that'd ruin what we have. And I'd hate that. I'd really hate that."

Sensing the end, Seungmin hummed to himself, taking in everything that Jisung had said. Seungmin couldn't say that he had any real experience in love himself, so he wasn't sure why Jisung had asked him, of all people. He'd just have to do his best to reassure his friend. It was plain to see that Minho (sorry, they) felt the same way.

"I don't think that you have much of a choice in the matter,"

Obviously confused, Jisung waited for him to continue.

"Do you think that you could possibly be happy just being their friend? Wouldn't it drive you insane, never knowing how things could have been? Even if you lose a friend, you could walk away regretting nothing and purely understanding that you see your relationship in different ways. Things might never be the same, but maybe it's for the best if the two views of your friendship are so opposing. Plus, what if he does like you? Isn’t even the smallest chance worth a risk? Think about what you might gain rather than what you might lose. You're on your way up."

Seungmin had gotten a little carried away in the silver starlight and noises of the night. 

"I hope that helps..."

He looked to Jisung, who had undisguised contentment shining in his eyes. 

"Yeah. Yeah it does."

He trailed off, letting the night air engulf the two. Just as Seungmin was drifting off, he heard Jisung whisper softly,

"You know, you're pretty good at this stuff. Advice."

Seungmin had time to nod slightly before sleep overtook him again.  
It had been a few weeks since that night- and Jisung's business idea had sprouted into action. The letters he constantly received always improved his days. He was enjoying writing in Agony Uncle more and more as each Monday (his weekly slot) came and went.

Seungmin still remembered the first email he replied to:

**Sender: IN.Fox@gmail.com  
Recipient: Me  
Subject: Please save me from myself**

**Message: **

Hi! 

I'm IN and I kinda never thought I'd be desperate enough to do this, but here I am, so...

Anyway, there's this guy in the year above me who I really like. But he's popular. Like, hoards of screaming fan girls popular and I don't want to get in the way of that... also I'm scared that if I ask him out things won't be the same. What if it completely ruins our relationship?  
Like we hardly have a relationship- he gives me extra cookies whenever I order coffee and he’s working. It’s the only time we talk, but I want to get to know him better.

Ugh sorry about this (´༎ຶོρ༎ຶོ`)  
Please deploy your infinite wisdom and save me from my own ditch of failure.

IN :/

At the time, Seungmin had experienced a little trouble trying to compose the article. But he liked to think that the end product showcased his hard work well.

**Agony Uncle  
Dedicated to IN**

**Monday 2nd September **

**Email Agony.Uncle@UniNews.com for your own Agony Uncle advice.**

Dear IN,

Crushes are often difficult to navigate. They don’t hold the certainty of the dating stage, nor the magic of the first glance. In many ways, they kinda suck. But they’re an important first step to a relationship. I think that you need to have a little more confidence in your crush’s reciprocation- you’re the one getting free cookies, are you not? You definitely occupy more of their thoughts than you might expect.  
As for the ‘hoards of screaming fangirls’, I think that you’re using them as an excuse to delay your actions. This relationship is down to the two of you, don’t use other factors as a reason against acting.

I can’t tell you what’s right in your situation; I don’t know the whole story. But I can say that asking them to join you at lunch or making an effort to speak to them whenever you can will really help drive your relationship forwards. Those seem like some ideal next steps.

Email me on your progress, IN. 

Your Agony Uncle

Did Seungmin regret his awkward sign-off? Yes. But it had become a bit of a trademark, and Seungmin couldn’t change it now. About a week later, Seungmin received a message from a familiar name.

**Sender: IN.Fox@gmail.com  
Recipient: Me  
Subject: Re:Please save me from myself**

**Message: **

Hello, it’s me again!

I just wanted to thank you :D things have been going great, we sat together in classes and I went round to his yesterday.  
I haven’t asked him out yetttttttt but I can kind of feel it coming? 

Again, thanks so much! I’ll tell you if anything develops

IN ;)

Seungmin had felt a strange motherly pride blossom in his chest when he read the message. He could easily say that his favourite part of writing in the college paper was when he got a reply like this. It filled his insides with warmth and brightened his day.   
He’d actually exchanged a few emails with IN (who he’d later discovered was Yang Jeongin) in recent weeks. Hyunjin and him were now the University’s hottest student couple and Seungmin felt a certain level of responsibility, to say the least.

Another perk in his job; new people. Seungmin did not pride him self in his social ability. He was an introvert. Felix once went as far as to say; a recluse. (Which was a little wounding, to say the least.)  
He'd met some interesting characters through his service, needless to say the school's heartthrob couple of Jeongin and Hyunjin. Another friend resulting from his column was Chan. A third year with a... confusing predicament.

**Sender: CB97@3RACHA.com  
Recipient: Me  
Subject: Agony Uncle Columns**

**Message:**

Hello Uncle,

Okay I've just realised how weird that introduction was. I'm going to start again.

Hi,

I'm CB97 and I read your last post. I thought it was really good advice- I'd probably have just said "I'm sure they love you, ask for their hand in marriage" and I'm not sure that marriage is the best idea for an overworked uni student.

Alright back on topic! I have a minor problem. My music professor is high key good looking and I'm kind of into him? That sounds really weird with no context but he's only 2 years older than me and I'm in my last year anyway.  
I don't know if it's a good idea to do anything about this because it could cost his job. But I'm kind of getting Vibes back?

Help me

CB97

Well, Seungmin could safely say that that was a fun topic to write about.

**Agony Uncle  
Dedicated to CB97**

**Monday 9th September **

**Email Agony.Uncle@UniNews.com for your own Agony Uncle advice.**

Dear CB97,

Well. Quite the predicament you're in there.  
From what I've been told, it sounds like you do stand a chance at a relationship in the near future if the age gap is only 2 years. Future being the highlighted word.

In my view, it'd be a little unfair to try and power on with your relationship at this stage. Not only does it put your professional relationship at risk, but could also impact his teaching and your education. With the added legal matters surrounding it, doing anything at this stage is definitely not worth it.

Seeing as you're in your last year, you can easily wait for a little more before trying anything out.

I hope that you take this advice, you're in a very tricky situation.

Email me with any developments,

Your Agony Uncle

Seungmin is glad that Chan (who revealed himself when they later became quite amicable) had emailed him. Luckily, nothing had gotten out of hand and Chan had taken his advice. His professor, however...

**Sender: CB97@3RACHA.com  
Recipient: Me  
Subject: How the turns have tabled**

**Message:**

I read the article and wanted to thank you for the advice! It's a good idea to wait on my part so that no one has any risks.

buT

My professor has actually just started giving me private tutoring lessons? Free? At Starbucks? And he's super relaxed in them he wore jeans and stuff it was really weird but also fun?  
It seems to me like something is going on here but for now I'm going to stick with what you told me.

Thanks again,

CB97

Really, Seungmin didn't fully support Chan's whole situation with his professor (Kim Woojin?). In his eyes, professional lives should be kept away from social lives. But live and let live, he supposes. Who's Seungmin to stop his friend's cutesy coffee study dates?  
Absolutely no one, it turns out.

Seungmin's column could also be home to some quite unexpected plot twists, he found out. Especially when a very familiar story popped up in his inbox.

**Sender: spearB@3RACHA.com  
Recipient: Me  
Subject: Stars and the like**

**Message:**

Hey, I'm spearB and I'm kind of in the middle of a constant existential crisis.

My longtime crush has been flirting with me through the daily horoscope in the uni paper. Like the box right above your article?  
I don't believe in horoscopes and stuff like that because I can't be defined by the solar system. But I was looking at them yesterday with my friend who's obsessed with astrology.

I was checking out Leo and I knew that the article was written by my crush (a Virgo) and this is what it said:

_As Saturn's Moon enters its 5th rotation, now is a time for Leos to reflect on their relationships with people around them. It's a good time for friendships to develop into something more, and would be an ideal moth to find someone to spend life with. Like a Virgo. A super pretty, preferably Australian Virgo is seriously what you guys need right about now._

Well maybe he's not flirting as much as asking me to be with him forever. But do I confess? Or wait for him to confess? He did mean me, right? What if it's about a different Leo?

Shit I didn't consider that.

Lost and confused,

spearB

Seungmin had definitely not burst out into hysterical laughter by the end of that email. He had known that Felix was flirting, but he didn't think that the Virgo would take it quite so far.  
Replying to that one was a piece of cake.

**Agony Uncle  
Dedicated to spearB**

**Monday 16th September **

**Email Agony.Uncle@UniNews.com for your own Agony Uncle advice.**

Dear spearB,

I think that I can safely say that you are, indeed, the Leo in question. Rather than wondering how I'm certain, spend your time planning an elaborate and exciting way to confess to your crush.  
He's probably writing to you through The Daily Horoscope because he's too scared to say these things to your face so there's no way that he'll confess first.

Virgos like a man to take the initiative, I would know, I'm a Virgo.

So get planning and tell me how it goes,

Your Agony Uncle

Felix was shocked when he finished reading the article that Seungmin had shoved in his face. And then chased Seungmin round the kitchen with a slipper and cried. (In happiness, he explained later).

Two days later, Felix returned to their dormitory with a promise ring and a heart stopping smile. Seungmin saw a lot more of Changbin around after that.

This week, Seungmin has chosen to answer a far more abstract enquiry than his usual love stories.  
The email had come late at night; possibly 3? With all of his new responsibilities, Seungmin had been ignoring a three page essay that his history teacher had requested for the next day. Just as Seungmin had scribbled out his conclusion, a telltale ping echoed around his room and his phone screen lit up.

**Sender: Student;User@IliAcc.com  
Recipient: Me  
Subject: [Empty]**

Message:

Hi. I'm Lee and I wanted to ask for some advice. I've noticed that you often write about crushes and stuff, but this isn't really about that. I'm sorry for your wasting your time with this if you don't generally answer these types of things.

I'm in a new relationship, things are going really well. Plus I've done really great on recent tests and stuff. I have an amazing group of family and friends who really love me. Everything has been pretty perfect.

But for some reason I feel like something's wrong. Like, really wrong. Whenever I do anything, I find myself questioning whether it's the right option and I can't make myself stop.

I'm so sorry about this, you really don't have to answer this it's kind of just me venting and stuff,

Lee

Seungmin has been searching for words to perfect his newest article. The deadline is tomorrow and his draft is still half full. Even what little is in it isn't worth anyone's time. Sitting in front of his laptop, Seungmin wanders how best to put Lee at ease. As a poetic history student merely passing as some psychologist, Seungmin isn't really equipped to deal with Lee's situation. But as he looks out of the large window in front of him, seeing the stars in all their leisurely glory, Seungmin has a burst of inspiration that leaves him pouring out his heart.

☆

Minho walked across a quickly darkening campus. Time waited for no one, apparently. It wouldn't be long before Minho was stuck trekking between the buildings in pitch blackness. Passing the library door, Minho plucked one of the University newspapers from the small pile left unattended. It was Monday, the day of truth. Although he had low expectations- Minho secretly hoped that the article would respond to his message. The wrongness that was once an unnoticeable nagging had quickly become almost unbearable. He couldn't keep it to himself anymore; no matter how ridiculous.

He flipped to page 7, glancing at The Daily Horoscope and snickering as he read Leo's forecast:

It may be a good time to search for stability within your life and begin to consolidate uncertainties to avoid misunderstandings in friendships and relationships. Especially with any Virgos in your life, as they appreciate constant reassurance and demand a lot of respect and patience. But they're totally worth it.

As his eyes travelled to the article that he was really anticipating, Minho's breath hitched.

_Dedicated to Lee_

He began to read.

**Agony Uncle  
Dedicated to Lee**

**Monday 16th September **

**Email Agony.Uncle@UniNews.com for your own Agony Uncle advice.**

Dear Lee,

Right now, I feel alone. And I don't understand why. I have the most amazing support system; the best friends that I could possibly imagine. I have the sun rising and the stars in the sky. I have the thankful letters from everyone reading this right now. 100 people's thoughts are with me.

So why do I feel alone?

It might be because a tiny, dark corner of my mind is telling me things.

They don't want you here.

Nobody wants you here.

It's telling me lies. And really, we fondly imagine that the only thing we can truly trust is our own brain. But that's so, so wrong.  
You mentioned that you felt somewhat empty, even with a blossoming relationship and tight circle of friends. There'll always be that voice- telling us that we aren't good enough. That we're doing everything wrong.

We need to learn to ignore it.

We need to drown if out with the good things- the people who we love's encouragement. The fireworks on bonfire night. The birds in the trees.

It can be hard to accept ourselves at rocky times like this. We need to remember that we're all doing our best, if we take a wrong step-

So what?

You're on your way up,

Your Agony Uncle

Putting the paper down, Minho smiled. He's on his way up.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed :) 
> 
> Coming soon, Work 2 of the MERAKI PAPERS: Stars and The Like
> 
> (A Changlix fan fiction in which Felix flirts with his crush via the stars).
> 
> Kim Woojin, thank you for being in Stray Kids and blessing us all with your amazing vocals and personality. I hope you are successful and happy in whichever path you take. Stay will always support you! Thank you.


End file.
